


Everything You Shouldn't Do

by vintagetimetable



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Teen Pregnancy, real life AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-10 18:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7856365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vintagetimetable/pseuds/vintagetimetable
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Juvia, the budding young teenager, finds that she has to grow up faster than she ever expected to. Or wanted to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The morning employees of Magnolia Caterers were enjoying a pre-shift cup of coffee when the manager burst in. Mr. Reathers was a big guy, 6’7” and bulky arms. It was as if he thought he was an army general when he spoke to them.

“Alright team, listen up!” he ordered, wringing his hands furiously. “We’ve got a huge order! You guys heard of Mrs. Lenners?”

A couple of confused “nopes” and “yeahs” emerged from the huddle. Mr. Reathers sighed.

“Well, let’s just say she’s a big cheese. She’s the sister of the mayor, and her daughter is getting married. The mayor recently placed the order. But hear this: we’re serving for 2500 people.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

The manager coughed. “To put that in perspective,” he looked down at the paper in his hand. “That’s about 7500 spring rolls, 7500 shrimp cocktail bites, 5000 caprese skewers, 5000 mini tarts, 2500 cupcakes, and 10000 mini pizzas.”

“That’s a lot of mini pizzas,” grumbled an employee.

“But”, sighed Mr. Reathers crumbling up the paper and shoving it in his pocket. “Some of you guys will have to work overtime.”

The employees looked at each other, as if asking for approval. Juvia spoke up.

“Mr. Reathers, we already work 9 hour shifts. Some of us have other jobs too. It was in the contracts. You can't just make us work overtime.”

The manager waved his hand in the air, as if dismissing the complaint. “Well, we’ll have to figure something out. And fast. There are only 2 months till the wedding!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a cool afternoon. A gentle breeze carried bits of leaf here and there around the pavement. A squirrel bounded up a telephone pole, and perched itself on the top. Juvia found a seat next to an old lady, who looked about in her 60s. Trying to avoid conversation, she looked down at her phone, pretending to text.

The old lady looked her up and down, and spoke up. “I know it’s none of my business, dear, but are you pregnant?”

The lady had a crisp voice, like someone were cracking a potato chip, twisting into a british accent at the end.

Juvia’s jaw dropped. “How did you know?” She was only 2 months along the way. She could have passed off the bump as belly fat.

“I just know. You’re glowing. You have a rounded body.”

Juvia felt red burning her cheeks. This lady knew too much.

“You look so young. What happened?”

She looked down, and slipped her phone into her pocket. “It… it’s a long story. I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”

The woman gave an understanding nod. “Yes, I know how you feel. Just take these words of advice.”

Juvia prepared herself for the typical, too-edgy-for-me words that everyone thought she could use. But she really couldn't.

“Diapers will run out at some point. Just use old t-shirts.”

That wasn’t what she really expected.

The bus arrived soon after their conversation.

Juvia boarded the bus, and handed the scowling driver a 50 cent coin. The 50 cents were the only money she could afford to spend to go to her next job. Combined, her 9 hour shift at Magnolia Caterers and her 8 hour shift at Macie’s left her with 7 hours, in which she could just pull together 6 hours of sleep and 1 hour to grab something to eat. Gray worked even longer.

Juvia looked down at her phone. It was 3:00. She had 20 minutes to get to her shift.

The reflection in the bus window didn’t match the bright-eyed, energetic teen she was a couple months ago. The black stains under her eyes, the droops in her face, and her dry, flaky skin wasn’t what someone would consider Vogue material.

But she didn’t have a choice. She was 15 and pregnant.


	2. Macie's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another crappy chapter!
> 
> This is a one shot, so sorry for any grammatical or punctuation mistakes.

Macie’s seemed even more packed than usual. The store didn’t have an employee door, so Juvia always had to take the main entrance, and swim through the crowd, trying not to get run over by the stampede of screaming tween girls.

She managed not to get squished flat, but when she made it to the storage room, she collapsed into a chair and took a deep breath. She had 5 more minutes till her shift. Enough time for a nap.

She woke up to the sound of her coworker, Sorano, bonking a mop handle on a shelf.

“Wake up, sleepypants! We gotta work! Shift starts in a minute!”

Juvia yawned and rubbed her eyes until she could see swirly colors. “Sor, I haven’t had a full 8 hours since July. I just need a few minutes.”

“Well, you did have a few minutes. Come on! Or Jenny is going to freak! You remember that last time?” Sorano questioned.

Juvia had fallen asleep at the counter a few weeks before while checking a customer out. Jenny, their boss, had chewed her out until it was midnight She still had a faint keyboard- shaped indent on her forehead from the impact. She ran her fingers over it.

“Yeah, I remember. We better get to work.”

It was an uneventful shift, as always. It was the same work everyday: hang up clothes, take stock, help clueless customers, check them out… it had gotten to the point where she was numb to boredom.

The hours turned by until it was 11:20, and her shift ended. Before she left, she went into the back and grabbed her tote bag containing her meagre lunch of pasta salad, which she had forgotten to even eat.

The Macie’s she worked at was only a fifth kilometer away from the apartment she shared with Gray. Juvia was grateful she had found a job so close to home. She was always too tired after her jobs to even think about walking more than a couple blocks, even though her usual route home was shady.

She ran home, the bag beating her shoulder, feeling more nervous than she usually did. She had never been assault, but it was still a scary thought.

She eventually reached the apartments. The apartments were made up of 2 beige, squatting buildings, covered by fence. The buildings were surrounded by light forest, and a couple other buildings kneeled nearby.

Nobody was home when she entered the apartment, which was typical, since Gray came home a half- hour after she did.

She pulled the lunch box out of the tote bag, sniffing to make sure it was still good. Sure enough, it was.

Juvia had a dinner of day- old pasta salad and flopped into bed, promptly falling asleep. It had been a long day.

Her sleep was short lived, though, because her phone beeped, signalling a message. She begrudgingly picked up her phone.

Cana had sent a message her usual way: too many emoticons, a few spelling errors scattered here and there, ‘XOXO’ at the end. They were comforting and enraging at the same time.

_Heya, Juv XD! ! If u have time lets meet tmrw for lunch @ 4:30! ! ___

_XOXO, luv & kisses, ___

_Cana ___

Juvia couldn’t help but smile. But her head fell back into the pillow and she fell asleep.


	3. Magnolia Caterers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, another crappy chapter! I'm really sorry, again. I'm kind of falling behind on writing quality- but it'll come back for sure.
> 
> Flashback chapter next!

Juvia woke up to the smell of Gray’s cologne. She was surprised, at first, as she had never seen him even go to bed. 

He woke up later than she did, so she tip-toed out of bed, took a quick shower, and waited out the coffee- maker. She needed caffeine. It was the only drug she craved.

She tried to avoid using her phone; she had been too tired to charge it the night before.

The coffeemaker finally beeped, and Juvia filled herself a tumbler of the bitter nectar. She shoved her phone into her tote.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Bickslow was filling cream puffs when Juvia reached her first job. He tried to offer her one, but she kept on declining.

“I’m lactose intolerant, Bickslow. You know that.” she sighed, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m not in the mood to deal with hives. We don’t even have insurance.”

Bickslow always wore a bandanna over his hair net, which fell over his eyes and covered them. She had never even seen his eyes.

He put down the tray of cream puffs.

“Well then. You can try to live without these beauties.” He exhaled. “Anyways, how do you feel about working overtime?”

“Wait, what?” Then she remembered. “Oh. I really can’t. I already have another job. Plus, Mr. Reathers can’t just make us work extra out of the blue.”

“It was in our contracts. He can. A maximum of 4 hours.”

Juvia must have glazed over that. Back when she applied, she was so desperate for a job, she didn’t even read the contract.

“I swear. If he makes us work 4 hours extra, I’m going to be filed for murder.”

Just then, her phone beeped. It was Cana.

Juv! So, can we meet? Levy is coming too, btw!

See you there! ! :3

XOXO

Cana

She had 3 percent left. Just enough for a phone call.

“Bickslow, if you’ll excuse me, I have to make a call.”

She stooped into a corner, and dialed Jenny’s number. A few rings before Jenny picked up.

“Macie’s, speaking. We have shoes, shirts, and dresses, that will have you in messes!”

“Uh Jenny? This is Juvia.”  
Jenny snorted. “Okay. What do you want, Juvia?”

Juvia pulled the phone away and cursed. There was only so much Jenny she could deal with in a day. She put it back to her ear.

“I have an… appointment at 4:30. Can I leave early?”

The other end went silent. Jenny coughed.

“Well… you’ve already been behind on work so far. Seeing the other week’s… incident.” Jenny sounded like she was shaking her head. “I don’t know why I should let you.”

“I can make up for it. I’ll work an extra 3 hours, on demand.”

Jenny made a noise in consideration. “Well, if it’s on demand… fine. But just this once.”

“Thanks so much. Bye.” Juvia hung up. Her phone was almost dead.

She texted Cana back. It was a date.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	4. A Case for the Date

Juvia was at a bar. A bar. Never in her 15 years expected herself to go to such a place. But peer pressure had made up it’s mind.

It was dark- it smelled of bad decisions and body odour. People, young and old, were dancing too close to each other, as if moulding their bodies to the other, trying to find the perfect fit.

She was sitting at one of the bar tables, trying not to fall off a bar stool. Next to her sat the most beautiful person she had ever seen.

Gray Fullbuster- that name sparked a fire in her stomach. It made her giggle. It made her squeal. It made her dream.

He wasn’t himself that night, though. He was as drunk and mindless as everyone else in the bar. She didn’t know whether to feel disappointed that he hadn’t consciously made the decision to sit next to her, or scream because he was next to her.

He had his head propped up with his hand, his elbow resting on the table.

“Juvia… you look almost as beautiful as my mother. You almost have her eyes.”’

Juvia blushed. She told herself to snap out of it. He was drunk. He didn’t know what he was saying.  
She took it upon herself to sober him up. The grilled cheese she ordered would do the trick. She passed him the plate.

Gray poked the sandwich, and immediately grimaced.

“Gross- what is it?” He was acting like a 6 year old.

“Eat it. It’ll give you, um, magical powers,” she lied through her teeth. She felt like a mother.

“Sweet!” he cried. He attacked the sandwich.

Juvia spent the next 5 minutes watching Gray eat a grilled cheese sandwich. He was a sight to behold- his spiky, black hair which was practically pleading for a haircut, his dark blue eyes, his ripped abs which you could, for some reason, always see through his shirt. People always hit on him unrelentlessly, and when they did, Juvia felt the urge to just punch them in the face. Even though Gray didn’t belong to her. Yet.

He sobered up a bit, but wasn’t clear-minded enough to get home on his own. She called him a cab, and watched him go off.

Everyone was going home, stumbling out, grasping each other’s shoulders for help. It was a pathetic sight.

She walked home alone.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Gray called her the next day while she was working on a book report in the living room. She was surprised. How did he even get her number?

“I got it from Cana… I just called to thank you for getting me home.” The thanks didn’t sound forced- it sounded genuine as could be. She could sense the gratitude in his voice. It set the butterflies in her stomach to rage mode.

“It was nothing, really. I do this all the time. You’re the easiest drunk I’ve ever dealt with.”

He laughed. He was so cute when he laughed. It sounded like his whole body coursed with joy. She loved the way he could still laugh, though he had gone through so much pain in his life.

“Still, you didn’t have to take care of me. Let me make it up to you. I’ll take you out to ‘The Aidez-moi’ on Friday- is that okay?”

Juvia jumped a bit from surprise. Gray must think a lot of her, if he was going to take her to The Aidez-moi. It was the most well known French restaurant in all of Magnolia Town. It was revered by critics as ‘the most exquisite, both culinary and in atmosphere, restaurant in Ishgar.’ She had been begging her Uncle Ambrose if they could go since she was a little girl, but they could never quite scrape together the funds. Her uncle was a gynecologist, but doctors didn’t earn much in Magnolia.

After Juvia’s dad died, when she was 7, she had been living with Uncle Ambrose. Her mother had walked out on when she was 5, and ever since she had been living with her father. Her uncle had been the only one who was willing to take her, as they were already close.

Her uncle prided himself as being the only blood relation to Juvia’s family who wasn’t a bluenette- he was as brown haired as one could get. Juvia used to call him her ‘chocolate uncle’, which was actually quite racist, now that she thought about it.

Juvia shifted her focus back to the phone conversation.

“Fullbuster, just how much money do you have?” She was joking, but also felt like throwing up. Was this a date?

Gray tee-heed. “Just enough to take out a special lady.” She could hear him winking. The butterflies threatened to come up.

“I would love to go. I’ll have to ask my uncle, though, before I get too excited. I’ve wanted to go to The Aidez-moi since I was little.”

“If you can go, I’ll also get you that brownie tiramisu trifle that was in The Food Cyclopedia. I know you love that magazine.”

“Gray, I could kiss you!” She was half-serious.

The other end went silent for a second. Then he spoke again.

“I hope you’re not serious! Well, if we do meet up, let’s make it 7:30. I’ll pick you up then.” 

He hung up too soon.

Juvia fell back into the couch. She tried to finish her report. She didn’t finish her report. She couldn’t. 

She paced around the room for a good 20 minutes, her mind occupied. 

It was definitely a date. What else would it be at 7:30? Why else would he be picking her up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, a flashback chapter!


	5. Cana's Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late! I've been a bit busy lately, and emotional from what happened in chapter 499 :'(

Cana had made them reservations at a cafe in downtown Magnolia. Juvia walked slowly, taking in all the flavours of the afternoon. Either mother nature was having a lucky streak, or she hadn’t ever appreciated natural beauty before.

Cana greeted her with gentle handshake and a bright smile. “Juvia, how’s it going? How’s Gray?”

Juvia took a seat. “Well, I’m fine. As for Gray…”

Cana pulled a flask out of practically nowhere and took a deep inhale from it. 

“Is he still, you know, depressed? I’ve noticed he’s been really down lately.”

“Well, we have been going through a lot of stress lately. I think he’s just worried about the baby, and all. He’s lost of a lot in his life.”

Cana sighed, knowingly. She looked longingly into her flask. “Anyway, I don’t know how you can live. I mean, 9 months without alcohol! That takes serious commitment!”

A waiter came up. Cana waved him away.

She took another sip from the flask and perked up. She looked down at her phone.

“Well, Levy is gonna be here soon. She has big news. Big, big news. Just wait till you hear!”

Juvia and Cana stuttered in and out of conversation for the next few minutes till Levy showed up. She had a big cardboard box in her arms.

“Juvia! It’s been too long!” They hugged. Levy seemed a little warmer than usual.

“How’s Gajeel?”

“Oh, he’s fine!” She gave a little laugh. “He wanted to give you something, but he was a bit embarrassed about it.” Levy handed her the parcel.

Juvia opened the box a teeny bit, and looked through the gap. A cloud of pink hit her eyes.

She pulled out a tiny cheerleader dress, with matching shoes.

“Gajeel bought this?” Cana inquired, her eyes widening. “Damn.”

Juvia couldn’t help but giggle. It was funny to imagine Gajeel, the ‘toughest’ guy picking out a prissy dress, out of place among the pregnant mothers and 4 year olds.

“I absolutely love it.” Juvia hugged the dress to her chest, taking in the newly bought scent.   
“Speaking of which, do you think it’ll be a boy or a girl? Won’t it be a waste if it’s a boy?”

Levy rolled her eyes. “Talk about gender norms, Cana. Boys can be cheerleaders too.”

It was just then that the waiter came up again, looking frustrated. He took their orders again: hot chocolate for Juvia, a ristretto for Levy, and nothing for Cana, she had her boyfriend.


	6. Coffee

Gray was home early. 

Juvia had found him plopped on their threadbare couch, a mug of coffee tangled in his hands, though it was about 11:40 at night.

“Why are you home early?” she asked, puzzled.

“What, didn’t miss seeing this beautiful face?” He shook his head, a slight smile on his lips. “No, boss said I could go home. He said I was looking a little… sullen.”

She sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Don’t tell me it’s happening again. You can’t leave. Not at a time like this.”

Gray cursed under his breath. “I promise. I promise.” He didn’t sound very certain.

“How was work today?” she inquired, snitching the cup from his hands and taking a long sip.

“Good. I got 50 dollars in tips tonight,” he sighed, pushing his fingers through his dark hair. Gray also had two jobs, working as a bartender, in the only lone pub in Magnolia Town. The same one.

Juvia perked up immediately. “That’s awesome! Do you realize what this means? We won’t have to eat pasta salad everyday!”

He mocked offense. “If you’ll excuse me, I happen to enjoy pasta salad.”

Standing up, she set her tote and the empty mug on the counter. “Well, if I dare say, Mr. Fullbuster, you have a terrible taste in cuisine.”

“Ms. Lockser, you seem quite incompetent. I recommend you shove your face in a pile of hot mashed potatoes and call it a day.”

They both laughed at the silly exchange. These little conversations were the things that kept them going every day, through the hardships and wilted pasta salad.

It was once in a blue moon that the two of them went to sleep at the same time, to say the least. The last time they had, it was a very passionate event. But it was really late that night and the passion had to be put on hold for a better time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I know, shitty chapter. New one will be up soon though! And the plot will start.


End file.
